Okay, no words can make up for the time it took me to update. And besides that, the only words the readers want are the ones that are going to follow this.

Thanks to everyone who has patiently (or not so patiently) waited for this. I can't thank you enough.

Enjoy

The couple days after my father lost little miss Moon Princess where not pleasant ones. Not that anyone was expecting them to be. From what I heard, my father has sealed himself away; he and his horse had chased her all the way to the Merryweather border. Unfortunately for him, the blasted black beast had found her before he had and lead her to safety. Yet again the girl had slipped from the hands of the De Noirs.

Sometimes I think my sister had the right idea in running away. Loveday was brave, brave for standing up to our father, for running, however strange that sounds.

Me? Why haven't I left yet? I'm a coward, that's why.

Once again I was sent to check traps. It is so infuriating, being treated like a poor little page or something. Someday, I would be a mighty ruler. Someday the De Noir castle will be mine, but not today. Today I was trapper boy. I thought bitterly as I trudged through the forest, probably scaring away any animals within a mile radius.

I heard the piercing cries of a trapped animal not far ahead. It was the trap close to the Merryweather boarder, in the clearing where I lost the Merryweather girl the second time. That stabs my pride a bit. There shouldn't have been a 'second' time, or a third for that matter.

There was a rabbit in the trap just like the, err, second time.

I hopped the tree with the kind of nimbleness only a De Noir can posses in the forest. After all, I am the best of them all.

As I walked into the clearing something stirred inside of me. Something was amiss. The feeling of the forest was off today. Some may think that it is stupid that a person can feel something like that from a forest. But once you've walked a place your entire life you get a pretty good feeling about what is going on inside.

A flash of red caught my eye. Ah, it seems that I have a quest.

"Princess-" I smirked as the Merryweather girl stepped out from behind a large tree. How stupid could one girl get, showing up in De Noir territory, all alone, standing in front of the person who wanted her dead more than anything? Did she want to be killed?

I drew my knife, today was the day, today I would get my honor back. Trying to refrain from laughing I thought of my luck, that this girl would just give herself to me, how proud my father would be.

"-giving yourself up, how good of you."

She laughed, light and airy, as if we were attending some city ball and she was laughing at a joke. Yet, the sound of it made my blood run cold.

She reached for something behind the tree, and before I could even move. I had been jerked upside down, the tree limb swaying back and fourth with my weight, swinging me to-and-fro. My hat went flying.

I was hardly conscious of the yell emitting from the lips. In the back ground I could hear her laughing, still a polite, dainty laugh, as if she hadn't just nearly dislocated my legs.

"The great trapper, trapped." She continued her laughter as she made her way over to me.

My vision was blurry, and the fact that I had blood rushing to my head was not helping anything.

"Let me down you little witch!" I yelled this was humiliating; the second I got down she was a dead girl.

She picked up my knife which had flown out of my hands when my world had been turned upside down, unfortunately in a quite literal sense.

"Certainly," she said, now it was her turn to mock me, I did not like it one bit. With my knife in hand she padded over to the rope holding me up. And with that knife she began to saw.

"No, don't you dare!" I shouted as I realized what she was about to do and what fate my head would have it she did it.

"No?" She looked at me over her shoulder, a mocking grin spread over her pale face. Much to my dismay she walked away from the rope, leaving me dangling.

"Ow, ow, my foot!" I cried. I know, very manly of me, but don't you dare tell me you wouldn't do the same if you where in my position.

The small girl took her time bending down and releasing the blasted rabbit from the woven cage, as I continued to groan in pain. She whispered to the wretched thing, great, the Merryweather talked to bunnies too, she was out of her mind.

She still was crouched down with the rabbit, not paying me any mind. I had to use my last resort. "Please." I begged.

My foot had started throbbing along with me head. I was going to die, I was going to die if she left me here. Yet, she started to walk away.

"Wait! This is really hurting; I can feel my head swelling!" I couldn't believe myself, showing weakness to a girl, and a Merryweather at that. After this I would lock myself away and never speak again. Oh, this was so shameful.

"Oh, no, it was like that before." Moon Princess said nastily, all light manner gone from her voice. She sounded genuinely angry. Yet, despite her biting words she walked back over. "I will let you down, if you do one thing for me."

Well, was I really in the position to decline that? No. I was not. "What!" I cried.

"Just promise you will listen." She made her way to the base of the rope.

That was it, I was going insane, being upside down too long had finally gotten to me. She couldn't have said what she just said. She was going to let me down, to listen to her?

"Say I promise." She said tipping her head, the way women do when they don't want to argue.

My mind was still blank. Was this really happening? No I was dead, this was a really strange right of passage into heaven or something. Merryweather was just the form some angel had taken.

"Just say it!" She said more forcefully.

No, I don't think an angel would talk like that. This was the Moon Princess.

"I promise." I said. I couldn't help the derision out of my voice. She just kind of looked at me, waiting for a more sincere answer. Sighing I gave it up. "Alright you beat me, let me down."

She smiled, "very well." She took the knife to the rope and within seconds it had snapped, throwing me to the hard ground. I landed on my back with a thud.

As I lunged for my hat, ready to attack her and get this over with I heard barking. And as I turned to the girl I saw the black figure in the back ground that stopped my heart. I was face to face with the bane of my existence. My two banes should I say.

Maria Merryweather held my knife to my chest ready to defend herself, the black mongrel stood by her side, its eyes turning blood red. The color that would be on the ground if I showed any signs of wanting to hurt the Moon Princess.

"What about him?" I asked, motioning carefully to the dog, as I took a few steps back from the pair, unable to keep fear, and pain, out of my voice.

The touched the dog with light finger tips and he relented. "You're a De Noir," I could hear the contempt in her voice as she threw the knife on the ground by my feet. "He very probably will hurt you."

Comforting, I thought bitterly, real comforting. I reached down cautiously to grab my knife; this had to be some sort of trap. The dog's eyes followed my hand all the way to the ground; he would kill me sooner than he let me near the Moon Princess.

I sat on a tree root, placing my hat back on y head, where it rightly belonged. I turned to her and shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm listening."

Thanks to everyone who did not give up on this story. I really cannot show my gratitude enough. Only by posting new chapters!

R&R

~Foxy